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CHAIR GIVEN TO GOVERNOR WILLIAM TAILER 
BY QUEEN ANNE, AND THE PETITION 
OF CHRISTOPHER TALBOT. 



At a meeting of the Massachusetts Historical 
Society, held m Boston on Thursday, Oct^ober 10, 
1907, Hon. Samuel A. Green made the following 
remarks : 

I have been requested by Mrs. EHzabeth Anna (Byles) 
Elhs, of Burlington, New Jersey, to give in her name a chah- 
of some historical interest, and by associations closely con- 
nected with Massachusetts, which once belonged to Wilhani 
Tailer, at different times Lieutenant-Governor of the Province, 
to whom; during one of his administrations, it was presented 
by Queen Anne. The chair is made of carved oak, and the 
carving shows the royal crown supported by cherubs, and also 
the rose of the royal arms. The caning of the seat and of 
the back has been renewed, and tlie sohd carved bar in front, 
forming part of the seat, replaces one that was broken. In 
other respects it is the same as when used by the Lieutenant- 
Governor nearly two hundred years ago. 

Mrs. ElHs is a lady of advanced age, — having been born on 
December 11, 1813, — and a great-great-granddaughter of 
Lieutenant-Governor Tailer, wliose daughter Rebecca married 
Mather Byles, a grandson of Increase Mather. By this con- 
nection she is also a descendant of John Cotton, whose memo- 
rial statue is to be formally transferred to the First Church 
this afternoon. It was her sister Miss Sarah Louisa Byles 
who at the March meeting in 1881 presented to this Library 
the Bible that once belonged to the Mather family. It was 



2 



T,3 



given originally to Mrs. Increase Mather by her father John 
Cotton, and on the titlepage it bears the autograph of the old 
Puritan minister. It is a copy of the Geneva version, quarto, 
printed in London (1599). 

Dr. Green also said : 

The following petition, found among the Massachusetts Ar- 
chives (CXXVIII. 60) at the State House, suggests a wide 
range for the imagination. It bears no date, but as Andros 
was deposed on April 20, 1689, it must liave been written 
before that date. It would be interesting to know what power 
Mr. TaU)ot, the writer, had in mind that would propel his en- 
gine against wind and tide. Was it the application of steam 
to machinery? Almost certainly it was not electricity. He 
may have been the Bell or Edison of that century, who died 
without making his mark. At any rate, the petition is a cu- 
rious old paper, and well worth a note in our Proceedings. It 
is furthermore of interest as showing at that early period in 
our history that patents were granted in New England, and 
that the customary limit was for fourteen years. 

To S*" Edmond Andros 
Kniaf Captain Generall & Govern- 
er in Cheif over this his Majestys 
Territory s of New : E. 
The humble petition of Christopher Talbot Turner in Boston 
Humbly sheweth 

That whereas your petitioner with great pains & expence hath found 
out an Engine usefull for divers trades men as turners ropemakers 
smiths & all sorts of mills for corne sider sawmills & almost any tijiiig 
that is to be done by wheels with sails & also hath discouered to make 
a boat sail against the wind & tide & sundry other things with more 
ease & expedition then hath ben discovered hitherto either in Europe 
or America. & wheras his Majesty & his royal 1 Predicessors haue at 
all times been pleas'd graciously to Encourage all undertakings of this 
nature y* whosoever finds out any new engine or invention profitable 
for y^ common good to grant their letters patents for the sole use 
therof 

Therefore y"" petitioner is humbly bold & beggs y* y"" Excelency will 
be pleas'd to grant him y*^ letters pattents for y^ sole use & improueraent 
of the said Engine in these his Majesties territories of New : K. for 14 



years (as is accustomed) & y' no other person shall make use of the 
same or any such like without y"" petitioners consent, who is in duty 
bound & shall for ever pray 

CiiuisTOPiiEii Talbot 

Another instance I recall to mind, where the genius of in- 
vention drew near to the door of discovery and found it ajar, 
but did not enter. It appears in an address made by Wendell 
Phillips in Music Hall at a Public School Festival, on July 25, 
1865, and printed in the Boston Evening Transcript of the 
next day. The extract is as follows : 

There was an old Boston merchant, years ago, wanted a set of china 
made in Pekin. You know that Boston men, sixty years ago, looked 
at both sides of a cent before they spent it, and if they earned twelve 
cents they would save eleven. He could not spare a whole plate, so he 
sent a cracked one, and when he received the set there was a crack in 
every piece. The Chinese had imitated the pattern exactly. Now, 
boys, do not imitate us, or there will be a great many cracks. Be bet- 
ter than we. We have invented a telegraph, but what of that ? I ex- 
pect, if I live forty years, to see a telegraph that will send messages 
without wire, both ways at the same time. If you do not invent it you 
are not as good as we are. You are bound to go ahead of us. 

It would be interesting to know what germ of an idea was 
at work in Mr. Phillips's brain at that time. In some matters 
he was a seer, and perhaps saw the possibilities of the future 
in wireless telegraphy better than some of his contemporaries. 
At any" rate, the idea never developed and bore fruit. Some- 
times it happens that a great discovery is nearly made, but the 
final stroke is not given in order fully to accomplish it. Often 
there is a glimmer of a new truth, but yet not clear enough 
for distinct assertion. 



LIBRARY OF CONGRESS 




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